Readiness receptacle for respirators

ABSTRACT

A readiness receptacle for housing a device such as a respirator, includes a first shell portion hingedly connected to a second shell portion. The connected shell portions define a space in which the device is disposed in a tearable bag sealed on all sides. At least one of the shell sections is pivotable to open said receptacle. A tear strap is connected to the tearable bag and portions of the tear strap are connected to each of the shell portions for tearing open the tearable bag simultaneously with the opening of the shell portions.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the construction of receptacles in generaland, in particular, to a new and useful readiness receptacle for housinga device such as a respirator contained in a sealed enclosure whichincludes two partly separable shells operatively connected to theenclosure which, upon opening, simultaneously open the sealed enclosure.

A readiness receptacle contains a respirator which can be used as escapeequipment. It could be continuously available for such a purpose, forexample, hooked or otherwise secured to the wall of a hotel room. Thedesign of the readiness receptacle must be such that, as is absolutelynecessary in catastrophies, the respirator can be taken out withoutdifficulty by untutored persons without practice and even in the dark.

A readiness receptacle for respirators is known which consists of two ormore shells which are held together by a tensioning closure disposed ona wire or by a tape or the like surrounding the receptacle. The closuremay be formed by a yoke fastened to one tape end and by a hook type endof the other tape end. Water-sensitive respirators are typicallydisposed in the receptacle packed in an envelope impermeable to waterand steam, for example, consisting of paraffined paper, plastic orrubber.

In one known embodiment, the respirator is accommodated in a tearablebag closed on all sides. The tearable bag is arranged in a receptacleformed of two shells in such a way that the bag is torn open as thereceptacle is opened. For this purpose, ribbons are provided on the bagwhich is fastened, e.g., with perforations on the eyes disposed on thereceptacle. This type of known respirator is carried on the body of thewearer. For emergency use, the receptacle can, after the tape closurehas been opened, be opened by pulling the shells apart, whereby, the bagis torn open simultaneously, thus, releasing the respirator. Both handsmust be used for opening. Because of the stresses occurring in carrying,the receptacle is made of a sturdy material. Notwithstanding the factsof user familiarity with the manipulations and the standard carrying ofthe equipment, in darkness, the opening manipulations neverthelesspresent special difficulties (See German Patent Specification No. 10 02203).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide a simple readiness receptaclewhich can be reliably opened without practice in an emergency situationand which, if suspended from a wall, can be operated with one hand.

In accordance with an object of the invention, a readiness receptaclefor housing a device such as a respirator includes a first shell portionhingedly connected to a second shell portion. The connected shellportions define a space in which the device is disposed within atearable bag which may, for example, be made from a steam-impermeablematerial closed on all sides. At least one of the shell sections ispivotable to open the receptacle. A tear strap connected to the tearablebag has a portion connected to each of the shell portions for tearingopen the tearable bag. Wall attachment means on one of the shellportions is provided for mounting the receptacle on a wall structure anda handle on the other of the shell portions is engageable to pivot atleast one of the shell portions to simultaneously open the receptacleand tear open the tearable bag. A latch member is provided for latchingthe sections together.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a receptaclefor housing a device, such as a respirator within a tearable bagconnected to the receptacle for simultaneous opening therewith includesa first shell section and a second shell section hingedly connected.Each of the shell sections has a side wall and top, bottom and side edgeportions extending laterally of the side wall. The edge portions of thefirst shell section are matingly fitted to corresponding edge portionsof the second shell section wherein a mutually facing portion of eachshell section defines a concavity and said concavities together define areceptacle containing area. Hinge means connect an edge portion of thefirst shell section to a corresponding edge portion of the second shellsection. An elongated latch member connected to the first shell sectionadjacent another of the edge portions extends through the containingarea and is detachably connected to the second shell section. A tearstrap is provided having a portion connecting the tearable bag withinthe containing area of the receptacle. A first engaging member,characterized as a pushbutton, engages a portion of the tear strap andconnects it to the first shell section and a second engaging memberengages a portion of the tear strap and connects it to the second shellsection. An attachment member is provided having attachment means formedintegrally of the second shell section for fixedly mounting thereceptacle to a wall structure.

It is an advantage of the invention, in particular, that untutoredpersons, for example, hotel guests may remove the respirator from areadiness receptacle hainging on a wall without difficulty. Even indarkness and with the additional factor of nervousness in an emergencysituation, the endangered person can open the inventive readinessreceptacle with one hand simply by pulling on a grip plate. After thefront shell has been flapped down, the respirator to be taken out withthe other hand lies open before him.

In accordance with a feature of the invention, attachment of the closedreadiness receptacle and, thus, of the respirator, on the wall is bywall attachments. The type and function of the wall attachments is,because of their obscured or covered arrangement, not perceptible tounauthorized persons. Hence, inadvertent or unauthorized placement ofthe readiness receptacle at a different location is prevented in asimple manner. In an emergency situation, therefore, it is alwaysavailable at the known place. Removal for inspection purposes is easilyperformed in accordance with another advantage of the inventiveconstruction. The latch closure prevents reclosing of the readinessreceptacle. It thus becomes impossible in an advantageously simplemanner that in a closed readiness receptacle, there can be a defectiverespirator after unauthorized opening.

By taking out the pushbuttons from the rear, readiness inspections aresimple. After removal of the pushbuttons, the tear strap is detached;thus, the tear bag is not torn open any more upon flapping down of thefront shell.

A further object of the invention is to provide a readiness receptaclefor housing a device such as a respirator which is simple in design,rugged in construction and economical to manufacture.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses,reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter inwhich preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the Drawings:

FIG. 1 shows the side view of the readiness receptacle according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a longitudinal side section of a readiness receptaclecontaining a respirator;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the receptacle of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4a is a perspective view, partly broken away, of a pushbutton forreceiving a tearable bag tear strap in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4b is a perspective view of a mounting member for receiving apushbutton of the type shown in FIG. 4a;

FIG. 5a is a front view of an arrangement for attaching a readinessreceptacle to a wall in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5b is a side section of the arrangement of FIG. 5a taken along thelines 5b--5b;

FIG. 6 is a front view of another arrangement for attaching a readinessreceptacle to a wall in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 7a is a front view, partly in section, of still another arrangementfor attaching a readiness receptacle to a wall in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 7b is a side section of the arrangement of FIG. 7a taken along thelines 7b--7b;

FIG. 8a is a front view, partly in section, of a still furtherarrangement for attaching a readiness receptacle to a wall in accordancewith the invention; and

FIG. 8b is a side section of the arrangement of FIG. 8a taken along thelines 8b--8b.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings in particular, the invention embodiedtherein, comprises, a readiness container or receptacle 1 which, in theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, is shown in a closed, verticalposition. The receptacle 1 has a front shell section 2 and a back shellsection 3 matingly meshed. Each shell section includes a side wall andtop, bottom and side edge portions extending laterally of the side wallforming at least part of the receptacle containing area adjacent oneside of said shell sections. Each of the edge portions of shell section2 mates with a corresponding edge of shell section 3 in the closedposition. The front shell section 2 and the back shell section 3 arejoined, respectively, at the bottom edge portions 4 and 5, by a hinge 6.

A latch closure arrangement 7 is provided within receptacle 1 at itsupper end. The latch closure arrangement 7 includes an elongated,elastic latch member 8 attached to the front shell section 2 extendingthrough an aperture 70 formed through the side wall of the rear shellsection 3. Latch member 8 includes a recess surface intermediate theends thereof and a pawl formed on one end of the latch member. A convexabutment depending from at least one part of the upper edge of the rearshell section extends into the recess of the recess surface and includesa generally concave abutment 9 formed in the outer surface of the sidewall of the rear shell section 3 for seating the pawl 12 when receptacle1 is closed.

A hand grip plate 11 is attached to the top of shell section 2. Uponopening the receptacle 1, by pulling on the grip plate 11, the pawl 12slips out of the concave abutment 9; the front shell 2 can then be swungdown. For safe gripping on opening, the grip plate 11 has a raised edge29 (thickening) extending backward counter to the direction of opening.The grip plate is preferably made of a luminous material.

The readiness receptacle 1 is suspended at the back shell 3 by means ofan attachment 13. The attachment described hereafter is effected withthe readiness receptacle 1 closed. This prevents unauthorized removalfrom the wall and assures retention of the respirator at a locationwhich must first be chosen. The latch closure 7 can be closed again onlyby means of a tooling device (not shown). Without this device, the latch8 would be caught with its pawl 12 hanging in the convex abutment 10 asthe shells are flapped together. With this design, any unauthorizedopening of the readiness receptacle 1 is readily noticeable uponinspection.

A respirator 14, packed in a tearable, steam-permeable bag 15, sealed onall sides, is housed in the receptacle. The bag 15 is connected by afirst tear strap 16 to the back shell 3 and by a second tear strap 17 tothe front shell 2. The connection is effected through two pushbuttons18. As is best shown in FIG. 4a, pushbutton 18 consists of a head 19connected to a shank 20 provided with at least one longitudinal slot 21and includes an outer circular detent 25. It is possible to introducethe pushbutton into a hole 22 of a mount 23, such as is shown in FIG.4b, or into a hole 24 formed in the shells.

After introduction, the detent 25 engages in mount 23 of the front shell2 behind a constriction 26, in the case of the back shell 3, as shown inFIG. 2, after introduction into hole 24 behind the inner side of theshell wall.

Two pushbuttons 18 which consist of the tear strap 16 with the backshell 3 are introduced from the outside. The back wall is provided withan opening 27 passing the tear strap 16 out. This design, as describedhereinbelow, facilitates removal of the respirator 14 from the readinessreceptacle 1 for inspection purposes. With the tear strap 16 released,the respirator 14, follows without tearing stress for the bag 15, as thefront shell 2 is being swung down.

A defined tearing of bag 15 on opening the readiness receptacle 1 isensured by a tear incision 28, shown in FIG. 3, between straps 16 and17. The bag may be formed of a material including a barrier layer foilof aluminum foil coated on both sides with polyethylene. Details ofdifferent wall attachments are illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8.

In the embodiment of wall attachment according to FIGS. 5a and 5b, theback wall of the back shell 3 is provided with one or more holes 58.Safety knobs 32 are secured to the wall 31 by screws 30. The safetyknobs 32 consist of an externally conical rim 33 provided with fourslots 35. The base of the rim 33 has a diameter which is slightlygreater than the hole 58. The safety knob has a shank 34 connected tothe rim which corresponds in height and diameter to the hole 58. Forbetter plugging of the holes 58 over the conical rims 33, the latter aresqueezed together by the edges of the holes 58. When the edges of theholes 58 snap in behind the conical rims 33 around the shanks 34 in themanner shown, the conical rims 33 expand again and securely hold thereadiness receptacle 1 on the wall 31.

Removal of the readiness receptacle 1 for inspection purposes ispossible by slightly opening the receptacle, without damage to the tearbag, and introducing a special tool with which the conical rims 33 aresqueezed together. Thereby, the holes 58 are cleared, and the readinessreceptacle 1 can be taken off. Before it is applied again, the readinessreceptacle 1 is properly closed again.

FIG. 6 illustrates a wall attachment 59. According to FIG. 6, the backwall of back shell 3 contains slotted holes 36, which have a serpentinemedian line 38, a width corresponding to the shank of the head screws 37and, near one end, a constriction 39. The head screws 37 are fastened tothe wall with a fitting distance between screw head and wall. At theother end of each slotted hole 36 is an enlargement 40, whichcorresponds to the diameter of the screw heads and with which the backshell 1 is fitted over the screw heads. Then the slotted holes 36 areintroduced under the screw heads and the closed readiness receptacle 1is pushed along the curvature of the slotted holes 36 over the screwshanks until the latter snap in behind the constriction 39 in the endposition. The receptacle is detached from the wall by moving it in theopposite direction.

In the form of wall attachment 60 illustrated in FIG. 7, the back sidewall of back shell section 3 is provided with passages 41 which areslipped over eye screws 42 fastened in the wall 31. Then, with thereadiness receptacle 1 closed, through a lateral opening 47 in the sidewall of back shell 3, a lock pin 44 is passed through the eyes 43 of theeye screws 42. Strips 46 on the back shell 3 serve as guides forinsertion of the lock pin 44. After insertion of lock pin 44, a seal 48is glued over the opening 47 in the side wall of the readinessreceptacle 1. For detachment of the readiness receptacle 1 from the wall31, seal 48 is destroyed. The lock pin 44 is then pulled out with anextracting tool which engages a screw thread 45 formed in one end of thelock pin.

In the embodiment of wall attachment 61 illustrated in FIGS. 8a and 8b,the back wall of back shell 3 has slotted holes 49 for receiving a screwshank 51, which terminate in enlargements 53 of a diameter correspondingto the screw head 52. Head screws 50 are fastened in the wall 31 in sucha way that the distance between screw head 52 and wall 31 takes up thewall thickness of the back shell 3 and the thickness of a lock rod 54 ofsquare cross-section. With the enlargements 53, the back shell 3 of theclosed readiness receptacle 1 is fitted over the screw heads 52.

After introduction of the slotted holes 49 under the screw heads 52, thereadiness receptacle 1 is pushed until the screw shanks 51 strikeagainst the ends of the slotted holes 49. The lock rod 54 is then pushedin under the screw heads 52 through a lateral opening 57 in the sidewall of back shell 3. The strips 56 on the back shell 3 and the opening57 here serve as a guide and as an abutment. After insertion of the lockrod 54, the seal 48 is glued over the opening 57.

For detachment of the readiness receptacle 1 from the wall 31, the seal48 is destroyed. The lock rod 54 is then extracted with an extractingtool fastened in the screw thread 55.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed in detail to illustrate the application of the principles ofthe invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodiedotherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:
 1. A readiness receptacle for housing a device such as a respirator which comprises a first shell portion hingedly connected to a second shell portion, said connected shell portion defining a space in which the device is disposed in a tearable bag closed on all sides, at least one of said shell sections being pivotable to open said receptacle, a tear strap connected to said tearable bag having a portion connected to each of said shell portions for tearing open said tearable bag, means on one of said shell portions for mounting said receptacle on a wall structure, a handle on the other of said shell portions being engageable to pivot at least one of said shell portions to simultaneously open said receptacle and tear open said tearable bag, and a latch means for latching said shell portions together.
 2. A readiness receptacle, according to claim 1, wherein said shell portions are hingedly connected by a plug hinge.
 3. A readiness receptacle, according to claim 1, wherein said shell portions are hingedly connected by a film hinge.
 4. A readiness receptacle, according to claim 1, wherein said handle is provided with a luminous material.
 5. A readiness receptacle, according to claim 1, wherein the latch means includes an elastic latch connected to one of said shell portions within said space defined by said shells having a concave abutment, a convex abutment formed in the other of said shell portions, said abutments being detachably engageable to latch said shells.
 6. A readiness receptacle, according to claim 1, further comprising a pushbutton having a head and a shank with longitudinal slits formed therein, a circling detent formed on said shank, and a mount formed in one of said shell portions being engageable by said pushbutton to secure a portion of said tear strap to said shell portion.
 7. A readiness receptacle, according to claim 6, wherein at least one of said shell portions includes an aperture extending therethrough, and said pushbutton extending through said aperture from the outside of said receptacle.
 8. A readiness receptacle, according to claim 1, wherein said tearable bag includes a barrier layer foil of aluminum foil coated on both sides with polyethylene.
 9. A readiness receptacle, according to claim 1, wherein the tearable bag is provided with a tear incision disposed between a portion of said tear strap connected to each of said shell portions.
 10. A readiness receptacle, according to claim 1, wherein said means on one of said shell portions for mounting said receptacle on a wall structure includes an externally conical rim connectable to the wall structure, said conical rim being provided with slots and having a largest diameter slightly greater than a hole formed in said shell portion and a shank corresponding to said hole in height and diameter.
 11. A readiness receptacle, according to claim 1, wherein said means on one of said shell portions for mounting said receptacle on a wall structure includes a screw connectable to the wall structure and having a head, a serpentine hole formed in said shell section having a constriction at one end through which said screw head cannot pass, and an enlargement at the other end for receiving and passing the screw head.
 12. A readiness receptacle, according to claim 1, wherein said means on one of said shell portions for mounting said receptacle on a wall structure includes a passage extending through said shell section parallel to said wall structure and at least one aperture communicating with said passage extending through the opposite sides of said wall structure, strip members on one side of said shell portion adjacent said wall structure generally parallel to said passage which is spaced therebetween, and a lock pin arranged between said strip members.
 13. A receptacle for housing a device within a tearable bag connected to the receptacle for simultaneous opening therewith, which comprises, a first shell section and a second shell section, each of said shell sections having a side wall and a top, bottom and side edge portions extending laterally of said side wall, said edge portions of said first shell section being matingly fitted to corresponding edge portions of said second shell section wherein a mutually facing portion of each shell section defines a concavity and said concavities together define a receptacle containing area, hinge means connecting an edge portion of said first shell section to a corresponding edge portion of second shell section, an elongated latch member connected to said first shell section adjacent another of said edge portions extending through said containing area and being detachably connected to said second shell section, a tear strip having a portion connected to said tearable bag within said containing area of said receptacle, a first engaging member engaging a portion of said tear strip and connecting it to said first shell section and a second engaging member engaging a portion of said tear strip and connecting it to said second shell section, an attachment member having attachment means formed integrally of said second shell section for fixedly mounting said receptacle. 